Keto Diet and the asparagine amino acid

(Jennifer) #1

I’ve been on a keto diet for about 2 weeks and I love the results that I’m seeing. Usually I would eat carbs and/or processed foods and it would make me instantly bloat and make me terrible for the rest of the day. I’m a picky eater so my meal plans are pretty boring. The whole reasoning behind my keto lifestyle change is kind of medically/scientifically twisted but I’m hoping it will pay off in the long run. Various cancers, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, and many other medical issues have and are running rampant in my immediate family. I would be highly surprised if I didn’t end up with cancer at some point in my life. I switched to a keto diet because glucose is the main contributor to the worsening of all these conditions and is the main fuel source for cancer cell proliferation. The majority of the foods that are main staples of the keto diet (poultry, dairy, beef, and seafood) all contain an amino acid called asparagine. Recent medical studies have concluded that an increased consumption of asparagine, or diets containing high amounts of asparagine, actually contribute to the growth and spread of breast cancer. I’m still doing research on this and plan to dig deeper to determine if the asparagine only effects breast cancer or if it has an impact on other cancers/diseases, how much is too much, if it’s naturally occurring levels are being altered by human intervention (such as GMOs, hormones, etc) and so on. Most fruits and vegetables have low levels of asparagine in them but probably most of them aren’t on the knot diet.

Is it just me of does it seem like even our naturally-occurring foods that are supposed to be the most healthy for us are starting to kill us. I was just wondering if anyone else has heard about this or if there are others that are wanting to know about it. I really don’t want to give up my keto diet that is supposed to be healthy for me if it’s going to do more harm than good.

(Candy Lind) #2

I would bring some links to the studies back here because there is such a “show me the science” mentality. Those interested will most certainly critique the study(ies) to make sure they are solid and not obfuscated with confounding data or practices that render them unsound. I would be one who wants to learn more and see if the studies are well-formulated. I look forward to seeing them.

(Tubeman) #3

Curious as to what kind of studies these were. I take lots of things with grains of salt now (totally intended pun), and I’m always wary or anything that can be turned into a ‘one weird trick’ meme.

My thought is this: every animal has evolved to eat in some particular way, and that way of eating will produce the healthiest specimens because they’re eating what they’re supposed to eat. Animals in the wild don’t get metabolic diseases, for example, and I bet they don’t get a lot of cancer (…or didn’t).

One thing which fascinates me is the anthropological studies done around the turn of the 20th century, when the last places on earth were being ‘discovered’ by modern man. Lots of groups were found who ate a purely carnivorous diet (or very close), and a consistent finding among these peoples is that heart disease and cancer were virtually unknown to them.

Also, pretty much any health thing is going to be be multi-variable. One thing I’ve read about recently is that most cancers feed off of glucose, and that a ketogenic diet can help ‘starve’ the cancer. An interesting study might compare people eating the same amount of asparagine, with some eating keto, and some eating SAD.

Just some things to consider, lord knows I’m no expert.

(Olivia) #4

According to the German Wikipedia, it seems to only cause a problem if it’s in contact with reducing sugars, as found in potatoes and grains and heated up. This can react to acrylamide, which is a potential carcinogen.

There is also a recent nature paper which shows that while our normal cells can produce vital l-asparagine, cancer cell rely on exogenous asparagine. Therefore, they conclude that by limiting dietary sources you are hindering cancerous cells from spreading.